Toll and compensation measures: the Pedemontana is not working

“Pedemontana must complete the compensation measures in the area.” The Province, along with the municipalities, has gone back to calling for the planned work to be carried out.

The provincial council has completed the report on the current problems of municipalities in the Varese area, related to the construction of the Pedemontana bypass. This document was presented by the President of the Province, Gunnar Vincenzi, and the majority Councillor, Paolo Bertocchi, with the support of the Mayors Giuseppe Licata (Lozza), Samuele Astuti (Malnate), Vittorio Landoni (Gorla Minore), Cristiano Citterio (Vedano Olona) and Luciano Biscella (Cislago).

“A few weeks ago, we went to Rome, to the Ministry of Public Works, to show them all of the problems,” Vincenzi explained at the beginning of the press conference. “As agreed, we’re going back to Rome, in a few days’ time, to deliver the document concerning the current situation. The report, which has been approved by the municipalities, details all of the needs relating to the work of environmental compensation and mitigation still to be carried out, and the problem of tolling. Our aim is to find a solution as soon as possible.”

President Vincenzi then explained the main requests of the municipalities. “On the matter of environmental compensation measures, the document calls for a precise and official commitment over the sums allocated for this work by Pedemontana. As for the mitigation, I should point out that some work has already been done. However, a number of interventions require additional work, and others still have to be carried out. Finally, the question of the toll, which, when introduced, emptied out the new bypass, and the roads going through the municipalities were back to the unbearable situation of when there was no Pedemontana, with very long tailbacks, and problems of noise and air pollution.”

Giuseppe Licata, the Mayor of Lozza, who organised, among the municipalities, the collection of the data contained in the document, explained, “Now the Pedemontana issue isn’t one that affects individual municipalities, but has become a problem for the whole area. I thank Varese Province for helping us with this situation.”

On the toll issue, Samuele Astuti, the Mayor of Malnate, said, “We need more clarity, openness and simplification on this matter. At the moment, it’s causing great problems for the people, even just to understand how much they have to pay. Maybe, it would be better to review the whole issue, including the amount of the toll, which is too high considering how short the distance subject to it is, and the fact that, considering what’s already been said, the work still isn’t complete.”